Mechanical musical instrument.



G. P. BRAND.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1909.

990,831,, Patented May 2,1911.

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- AT DRIVE)- G. P. BRAND.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1909.

990,831. Patented May 2,1911.

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GEORGE P. BRAND, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEQHANIGAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May .2, 1.911.

Original application filed July 132, 1907, Serial No. 384,881. Divided and this application filed June 17,

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I. GEORGE P. BRAND, a citizen of the United States of America. and resident pf New York, in the county oi New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Me chanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

'I his invention relates to certain new and lilscful irhrox onients in auto-pneumatic pianos'and t has for its objects among others to rovide for more compact arrangement of 116 parts, to taclilitate'the removal and re )lacement thereof and to give access to the inierior ofthe piano.

l-he invention consists in the particular construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, distinguishing fcatnresof which are an upper removable frame upon which are nmuntod. the motor, rewind mechanism, \actuatii'ig pneun'iatics and chest Work, which latter is formed with coupling blocks adapted to be secured to intermediate port blocks comn'iunicating with the tension chest. and exhaust mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Willhereinafter appcar and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which. with lhe numerals of reference marked thereon. Form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the parts essential to an understanding of my in vention, certain parts being broken away suhstantially centrally and only the necessary portions of the piano frame being shown. Fig. 2 is a vertical section upon the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking toward the left. Fig. 3 is a vertical section upon the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 1. looking toward the right. Fig. 4- is'a. View of the upper face ofthe intermediate port block shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a view oft-he upper face of the intermediate port block seen in Fig.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts through out the several views.

2 and Serial No. 502,753.

extremities thereof, are the intermediate port Blocks 3 and at. shown in section in :2 and 3. These intermediate port blocks 3 and 4 form an integral and. permanent part of the piano frame, and are the means by and through which con'in'iunication is established tclween the valve chest works 5 ,ahove, and 'the'tension chest or exhaust mechanism (not shown) below, thus each intermediate port hlock 3 and 1- is formed with a chamber 6 in the bod} thcrco'ii which connnunicalos through the conduit 7 and the tcxihlc tuho 8 with a tension chamber of the lonsion chest. which is not noccssauv to show or describe herein.

A. port 9 is formed in the face plate [O of each inlormcdiato port hlock l and l. and a dowel pin ll. projects upward from said taco plate ior the purpose of centralizing the valve chest liloclcs l2 and 13 upon and with relation to the intcrn'iediato port blocks 3 and 4-. said dowel pins fitting in holes l4 formed for their rcccpiion in the under side oi said valve chest hlochs. as seen clearly in Figs. 'lhus. the pa sages 15 in said alvo chest blocks are made lorogistcr accurately with the ports 9 in the intermediate port hloclrs 3 and l. The valve chest hloclzs are secured to the intermediate port blocks by thumh screws lll which engage with nuts 17 countersunk in suitable openings 18 in the port blocks and prci'orahly secured thereto in any suitahlc manner. as soon clearly in Figs. 2 and The passages 15 in the valve chest blocks comuuinicatc through ports fill with the alve chests 20 attached to and extending between said valve chest blocks, as will be seen upon reference to and 7. thus. also. rigidly connecting said 'alve chest blocks together. Uprights 2' 1. 2 e attached rigidly to the roar sides of the valve elitists 20 and support. a cross bar as seen clearly in Fig. 1. which is, in turn, rigidly secured to said uprights. The .valve chest blocks, the valve chests and said cross bar 22 thus eonstitute practically the integral detachable upper frame which may be quickly and conveniently attached to or detached from the intermediate port blocks by means/of the thumb screws 16. Mounted upon the said cross bar 22 is the motor 23, the rewind mechanism 24, the tracker-bar 25 and the mechanism for controlling the music sheet, which mechanism may be of any well-known or approved form of construction. In any event, the tracker-ha r communicates through the usualtubing 26 with the primary valves which control the secondary valves by which the playing pncumatics 27 are actuated in a well-known way.

The motor is connected by tubing 28 with a port 29 in the valve chest block 13, which port 29 coincides with the port 30 in the intermediate port block 4, as shown clearly in Fig. 2,, the latter port communicating through suitable tubing 31 with the ordinary governor interposed between the motor and the high tension chamber of the tension chest in the usual manner.

The lower portion of the mechanism may be of any suitable form, a satisfactory form being shown in my application Serial No. 384,881. filed July 22, 1907, from which the subject-1natter of this application is divided out.

It will be seen that by a simple manipulation of the thumb screws 16, the upper frame, with all of its connections, may be removed or replaced without disturbing or connecting or disconnecting tubing or parts other than the valve chest blocks with relation tothe intermediate port blocks. Thus, the upper frame. as a whole, with its connections, may be quickly and easily removed or replaced whenever desired to give access to the interior of the piano, and this may be accomplished without the uncoupling of pipes or tubing.

Modifications in detail may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What is claimed as new is I. In a piano of the character designated, the combination with a frame, actuating pneumatics. chest work and connections including the tracker bar, rewind mechanism and motor all mounted thereon and removable as a whole, of valve chest blocks rigidly attached to and communicating with the chest work, intermediate port blocks secured on the piano frame and connected with the tension chest, means for centralizing said valve chest blocks on the intermediate port blocks, and means independent of said centralizing means and removably inserted through passages in the valve chest blocks for securing the valve chest blocks to the intermediate port blocks.

2. In a piano of the character designated, the combination with a frame, actuating pneumatics, chest worlc and connections in cluding the tracker bar, rewind mechanism and motor all mounted thereon and removable as a whole, of valve chest blocks rigidly attached to and communicating with .the chest work, intermediate port blocks secured on the piano frame connected with the tension chest, means for centralizing said valve chest blocks on the intermediate port blocks,

and m ans independent of said centralizing means for securing the valve chest blocks to the intermediate port blocks, saidsecuring means being passed through the valve chest blocks and the intermediate port blocks and means permanently held in said intermediate port blocks for engaging said securing means.

In a piano of the character designated, the combination with a frame, actuating pneumatics, chest work and connections including the tracker bar, rewind mechanism and motor all mounted thereon and removable as a whole of valve chest blocks rigidly attached to and communicating with the chest work, intermediate port blocks secured on the piano frame connected with the tension chest. means for centralizing said valve chest blocks on the intermediate port blocks, means independent of said centralizing means for securing the valve chest blocks tothe intermediate port blocks, said securing means being passed through the valve chest blocks and the intermediate port blocks, and means permanently heldwithin a depression in the intermediate port blocks and secured against upward movement for detachable engagement with said securing means.

4. In a piano of the character designated, an intermediate port block, a valve chest block, means for centralizing the valve chest block upon the port block, a valve chest supported by and in communication with the interior of the valve chest block, and means for detachably connecting the valve chest block with the intermediate port block and for securing an air-tight joint therebetween, said means cooperating with the centralizing means.

5. In a piano of the character designated, the combination with a piano frame, a motor and a governor, of a port block forming a permanent part of the piano frame at each side of the frame and each provided with a port, and valve chest blockshaving passages coincident with said ports. a valve chest attached to and extending between the valve chest blocks and communicating with said ports, face plates ori said intermediate port 

